How do you all store your microphones?

Foam isn't really suited. It will disintegrate some day...

I've cleaned too many membranes with foam dirt.
 
"but as I don't turn computers off ever, if I can avoid it," Glad I don't have your lekky bill Rob!

Dave.
 
I think it's worth it - I work from home, so there are actually 5 permanently on - and often the monitors too, as the screen savers are off. So worst case, when we're lazy and busy is 5 computers and 8 monitors, plus the other recording gear - all on 24/7. I write off 50% of the cost to my business, and the last quarter the electricity bill was just over £250 in total, but that's obviously including the rest of the household stuff. I read once that computers mainly die and falter on the turn on from cold cycle - something I've had experience of, so I decided to try it. I go away to work each November, back in January and I switch everything off then - there's always one that won't come back on when I return home. Since this topic - I have started to turn the monitors off!
 
Mmm...if you can afford it, though you have also should consider the negative contribution to the environment of "wasting" electricity.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to preach some extreme "green" mentality here....I mean, we're modern folks, and living with the comforts that electricity provides, is important. I hate the people who don't have AC and instead sweat their asses off all summer or who have it but will "economize" by only turning it on when it's like blistering hot (I hate sweating indoors).
I'm just saying that when you have electricity being used up by something that is not actually being used by you at that time...is kinda wasteful. You can instead use those kW hours to run that AC a little more. ;)

In my studio...I couldn't leave shit on 24/7...'cuz it ain't just a computer and a couple of LCD screens that I'm using....though even a PC tower and a pair of 24" LCD screen when running, will burn up a lot of electricity. I'll leave it on all day, even if I break for a couple of hours, only because it's better for the gear than adding more on/off cycles to it....but when the session is done for the day or night...everything gets shut down. Not to mention, it certainly WOULD add to my electric bill.
I may not be back in the studio for a day or two...so why exactly is it on...and frankly, I don't think it's such a big deal to power things up and set up a couple of mics. I mean...there's rarely a situation where I'm running into the studio with some "hot off the presses" idea for a song, I just gotta hit REC and roll as soon as I'm in there. :D
I don't know who really has that kind of urgency...and I actually like the process of getting set up, because the whole time I'm doing that prep, I'm also thinking about what I am going to record, how I want to approach it, etc...etc.
The other reason I don't leave stuff needlessly powered up 24/7...safety from power spikes, brown outages, etc...from storms or whatever....and I simply don't like leaving gear powdered up and unattended. Again...I'm dealing with a bunch of rack gear, tape decks, console...etc...it's not just a computer or two that is powered up....and I have a few layers of protection in place, but I still
Like in the power-up sequence thread here in another forum - studio gear habits is a deliberate process for me.
 
I must confess I had not considered the "Green" angle Mir' and no, one is not preaching but we should be 'aware'. (I made my living for 4 years being involved with valve guitar amps, nasty, poisonous inefficient things so I CAN'T preach!)

But, I wonder if this whole "avoiding on/off cycles" is really valid? Is it maybe just a hangover from the (very*) early days of valves?

My very modest recording rig consisted for some 10 years of two desktop PCs, an A&H mixer, Tannoy 5A active monitors and a 15W valve amp (WEM Dommy clone) That lot was banged on and off at least once a day, often more often, seven a week. I cannot recall any kind of fault or computer problem that could be put down to start up?

* Post WW2, valves had become very rugged. The domestic radio contained 5 and such a radio would be switched on in the morning and off at bedtime and almost certainly cycled a few times during the day. Now I fixed 'em! Most of the issues were with dried out electrolytics and THEY fail because of heat+time! Next up was the rectifier, GZ32 as a rule but you got a good 5 years out of one and often ten.

TVs came next and that went on (UK) about 5pm and off at 10-11pm (don't want to wear out "The Tube"!) For sure, valve TV were much less reliable than radios but, they ran hotter and the design was shit, component ratings cut to the bone. Even so, many model gave 5 years without problems..

Urban Myth?

Dave.
 
But, I wonder if this whole "avoiding on/off cycles" is really valid? Is it maybe just a hangover from the (very*) early days of valves?

Well...I think there is a generally accepted view that during power cycles, there is more stain on components...some less some more, and that once powered, even solid state components will "settle" into their steady operating states, and temperature zones.
You can flip some stuff on/off a million times and not have any issues...but I think doing it unnecessarily doesn't improve things.

I've always followed a specific "staged" power up/down sequence, and I will power down for overnight periods, but will leave it on all day, even if I'm in out of the studio throughout the day. When I don't use the studio for a few days, I don't power things up.

I've got beefy power protection/regulation/distribution...and that protects my gear from spikes and browns for a fairly wide range. During actual micro-interruptions, there is a relay in front of all that gear that will lock in the off position, so I don't get that massive power-on following power blink.
That way, I can then flip all the switches to off, and power the gear back up in the usual sequence.
I like to first power up is my front-end, main surge box...wait 10 seconds, then the voltage regulator...wait 10 seconds, then my balanced power box...and then after then I just power the audio gear in the sequence I mentioned earlier...following how a typical audio signal would travel, with the studio monitors always last on/first off.

Maybe overly anal... :) ...but (knock on wood) I've not had studio gear failures or power supply breakdowns...etc...and the front-end power gear provides very steady, dead-quiet power. I don't really have any hums and noise.
 
Power up in circuit causes a momentary surge that filter circuits are designed to suppress when using the switch. The suppression circuit components can eventually fail(entropy is a real thing in electronics). The less expensive the components used the more likely the failures. Also power up not using the switch can incur more damage. So it's best to switch off and restart as Mir does if experiencing an outage. My opinion is that most "pro-sumer" and higher type musical electronics generally are robust enough to be repeatedly switched on and off for the "life" of the component, that is assuming they are given a reasonable amount of care and use. Power supplies are usually pretty good in modern stuff, the bigger issue is noisy power supplies IMHO. I will leave my equipment on for several days if I'm in an ongoing project or if I'm doing a full back up and don't feel liking waiting for it to finish. On the other hand , I don't leave my laptops on overnight if I can help it because I have them set to never let the processors sleep.
 
Also power up not using the switch can incur more damage. So it's best to switch off and restart as Mir does if experiencing an outage.

I pondered that problem for a few years...the instant power-off that can occur during a storm or other power supply issue, followed by that instant on.
It would drive me crazy because you never had a chance hit the power switches on the gear, it would happen so fast.
The power company guys said that their systems are design fire back up on the initial power hit, so when there is branch that hits a line, it cause the outage, but then their system instantly tries to reconnect...and then if the short/issue is still there, it will power off completely...at least that my paraphrase of what they told me.
So...I asked and looked for a way to keep the power OFF after that initial BLIP...and while some people suggested complicated solutions, it was Furman that provided the easiest one. They have a relay that is used for sequential power distro stuff...but as I read the operation and looked at the specs, I realized that it had a default power-off without automatic power up, unless you wired in jumpers to make it power right back up...plus it has a few other options, again, depending if you add jumpers in a certain way.
I then called Furman, and explained what I wanted...and the tech was like..."Hmm, yeah, you're absolutely right, it can do that". :)
They never sold it for that purpose, but by not wiring any of the provide jumpers...when there is power outage, the relay opens shuts and stays open...so even if it's a fast power blip, the relay will open, and there is no subsequent power up. :cool:
Once that happens, I take a simply piece of copper wire...I have a little jumper wire that sits nearby...and I just need to make momentary contact between two of the jumper points, for the relay to close again and let the power flow through.
It's a fantastic solution...and the relay is rated for 20 amps (I think they also make one for 15 Amps) which matches perfectly with my 20Amp surge/regulation/balanced power boxes. The relay sits in front of everything...the entire studio.
 
Yes, there is a lot of anecdotal "evidence" for power cycling to cause problems but very little hard fact. (to wax philosophical for a moment? You can't know "it's broke" until you switch it back on!)

The "strain" involved in start up is mainly borne by the filter caps. They will be a virtual short and so a large current will attempt to flow for a few mSecs. Conventional 50/6oHz transformers have resistance and losses and will limit this 'inrush' current but it can be a problem with bigger traffs especially toroids. In fact the "problem" is mainly to do with fusing, we might like to fit say 3.15A but inrush I will blow it once in say 50 starts.

As for solid state components "suffering" from being turned on and off? Every SMPSU has transistor or MOSFET doing just that many thousands of times a second!

The restart after momentary power outage. This was solved maybe a century ago? You DO NOT want a big M lathe or drill starting up when the juice comes back on so they are fitted with a "Zero volts switch".

People have their personal ideas and ways of working and who an I to question them but I have never seen much evidence that on/off cycles do harm and as I said previously, lots of kit was and is used that way.

In any case, "we have the technology" Decently designed gear can be made proof against this possible problem.

Dave.
 
Yes, there is a lot of anecdotal "evidence" for power cycling to cause problems but very little hard fact.

Like I said...I'm not worried about powering my gear off at the end of the day, and I think the main reason it's left on in big commercial studios is the convenience, the 24/7 need, and not to "disrupt" anything that was sounding sweet the day before.

That said...I wouldn't test the "no facts" theory by standing there and rapidly power cycling all my gear for a few minutes.
I also won't test the "all on" approach...and will always follow a sequential power up and down. I mean really, it's not that much extra time or work. :)
 
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